234 TRANK FORESTER S FIELD SPORTS. 



in a fold, wlii'e tlio cows ;re browsing the yonng fii-tipa, 

 or lying lioro and llioro cliowiiig the end lazily, secure of human 

 intrusion, human crucltv. 



^[rantiiuc. the ]>i>sts ar(> taken silently, each liunter chooses 

 his own victim, and at a ))reconcerted signal, ihe rifles flash and 

 crack, and all is tumult and confusion in the late tranquil yard. 

 Some of the forest cattle are prostrate in their gore, shot merci- 

 fully dead outright, or, as the Western hunters term it, in their 

 quaint prairie parlance, " thrown in their tracks ;" others, 

 severely wounded, are floundering to and fro in the snow-drifts, 

 bellowing savagely, and showing desperate fight, if antlered 

 males ; — trumpeting piteously, and seeming to imjilore pity with 

 their gi'eat soft brown eyes, if females ; while those more fortu- 

 nate, which have escaped the deliberate volley, are out of sight 

 already, perhaps, ere this, half a mile distant, in the boundless 

 forest. 



The keen knife bleeds the slain, — the tomahawk, or the re- 

 served rifle shot, finishes the ^vounded ; and remember this, 

 gentle hunter, never go up to your wounded Moose, or Cariboo, 

 or even Deer, until your rifle is reloaded ; for sometimes a 

 slight Innt will stun the tjuarry for a moment, and the si^ht ol' 

 his foe, close at hand, will give him power I'or a furious charge, 

 or for rapid flight, ere hatchet or knife can reach him ; and if 

 they could, neither to bring down a charging bull Moose, vior 

 to arrest a bounding Deer, will they avail the sportsman much. 



But now, when the yard is broken, or before this, if the Moose 

 have discovered the approach of their enemy betimes, and, as 

 often happens, betaken themselves to flight, the tug of war com- 

 mences. The snow-shoes are again buckled on, the rifles re- 

 loaded ; aiul, — while the camp followers taiTy in the rear, to 

 butcher the game, and hang it from the trees, beyond the reach 

 of the prowling Wolf, and then to bring forward the provisions, — 

 away dash the hunters, with trailed arms, upon the track of the 

 heavy Moose, deeply imprinted in the treacherous snow ; for the 

 crust which supports the light weight of the runners, mounted 

 upon their broad-surfaced snow-shoes, breaks at every flouu- 



